The Tailgate Plan to Win: The Jimmy Buffett and Louisiana Tech Edition

So, I think what I’m going to do is update you on all the goings on with me from my last post back in March with a little each week during the football season. Sound good?

First, I’m going to talk about the Jimmy Buffett concert since we’re heading into a three-day weekend and I’m all about some frozen concoctions to help us all hang on…and a whole lot of salt, salt, salt. Brad, Amber, dad and I went to see Buffett on April 16 in Atlanta. Now, I saw Buffett last year at JazzFest, but this performance blew that one away.

“Summerzcool”: The tour was aptly named “Summerzcool” after his newest single, and it was a pretty cool night up in the ATL. I saw old boss Meredith Jenkins, AU soccer coach Karen Hoppa and their spouses. Never knew they were Parrotheads until that night. Meredith was taken aback from the news that Josh had gotten married. Yes, that Josh Jackson. It’s too bad Josh and Katie couldn’t go with us, but they’ve had their own Buffett experiences, at least.

“We all live in a yellow submarine”: I kind of feel like, as an AU fanbase, we have all been living in a yellow submarine and keeping a sunny outlook on what could be a very tumultuous 2009. This road schedule isn’t going to be easy to maneuver, folks, and we still have a lot of depth issues. After getting excited beyond belief last year and claiming that we’d be “thinking of championships” with a 4-1 record in September, I’m toning it WAY down this year. As for the correlation to the concert – the Coral Reefer’s final encore with Jimmy was this song. I’ve got it on my XM receiver if you’d like to listen.

“Recession? What recession? I refuse to participate!”: In a tour sponsored by his beer and his liquor, Buffett put on one heck of a 150-minute performance. He ain’t hurting in this economy because, as he so eloquently put it, “I’ve been spending your money foolishly since the 1970s.”

Now, on to the important part – the first tailgate. Now, I hope you don’t freak out when I spill some of these details. We’re looking at between around 23 people this weekend and a similar crowd for Mississippi State. It is very possible we have more MSU fans at our tailgate next weekend than Auburn fans. But, that’s OK. We’re all about being good hosts, and I feel very confident in our abilities to make this happen.

For these first two weeks, we’re asking that everyone supply their own drinks (we can store in the refrigerator if needed between games). While we will have the basics (Dr. Pepper, Orange Fanta, Sprite, water, frozen concoctions), the best way we know to fill the coolers with enough for this contingent is everyone bringing their own beverages (adult or otherwise). Also, if you have lawn chairs, please bring those also. We have a few at the camper but not nearly enough for everyone.

The menu for this weekend is chicken. We’ll have a platter of wings from Buffalo Connection and all the grilled chicken thighs you could want. We will most likely throw some burgers on the grill also, but that may be a game time decision when the fire gets rolling.

With a group of people this large, we’re inching towards that noted goal of reaching the Coach Hal echelon. Will we sustain that number? Most likely not, but I’m digging the enthusiasm for the new staff and our fresh start. The camper is on a new lot with a bigger lawn, and the festivities will kick off around lunch on Saturday. I’ll be up and working around 6 a.m. so my phone will be on and I will be available to answer any and all questions. Just call 334-750-1735.

Assignments are as follows:

Brad Gregg (5): Fruit, at least two bags of chips (not tortilla)

Katy Braden (1): Dessert

Andrew Monroe (2): Cornhole set, BuffConn platter

Carl Monroe (7): Drinks, BuffConn platter with Andrew, Ice

Pete Keller (2): Chips & Salsa, Ice, Drinks

Andy Shores (1): BYOB, Ice

Tammy Holmes (3): Fruit, Ice

We’ll handle the rest.

See ya there. War Eagle.